Liquid-controlled gravity valve for use with furnace oxidators and mechanism for operating the same



J. J. A. MILLER LIQUID CONTROLLED GRAVITY VALVE FOR USE WITH FURNACE OXIDATORS AND MECHANISM FOR GPERATING THE SAME Filed Jan. l5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nay. 1925. 1.562.906

Nov. 24, 1925- 1,552,905

J A.'MIL.LER

J. LIQUID CONTROLLED GRAVITY VALVE FOR USE vWITH FURNACE OXIDATORS AND MECHANISM FOR' OPERATING THE SAME Filed Jan. l5. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J lg 20 iletented Het'. '5.925.

naiven Srafifee: PATENT operen.

JOHNJ.` A. MLLER; OF'DENVEIR, COLOR-ADO, ASSGNOR TOS THEAUOMATC PORATION 0F COLORADO.

LIQUD-CONTROL'LED. GRAVITY' VALVE FOR USE "NITE-3f FUENACE' OXIDATORS AND."

,.lppleatonfiledl January 1.5, .1923.. SerialuNo. ($152,790.x

aiiisnir'tor Operating); the. Same, ,o'tivhieh'the itolloivingfis a speci ieatioii.

Mv invention relates to iniproveinente in liquid controlled graif'itlv valves for-usexivi-th iiirnaee oxidatore andnieeha-nisin for operating thesaine, and particularly to valves ot this Character which are employed `in closing. the air inletdainpers ot' Yturnaee doors. at a.

has been opened.

rlhe objeet ot in vY present invention is tov provide a valve which is adapted to .be either auton'iatieally or iiian.i.iall},i v raised Whenthe 'i'iiinaee door openedto eoal .the lire et a.

eteani generatiiig` bo.ilei-,..and .which .will then.

drop slowly by gigjravitv.Y through a body` oit' eiiitalile liquid, .iirei'erably oil, within a. pre.-

dl'xterniiiied period `off time atter the door closed, varying troni.. about tivo to six iiiiiiiites,.iiieaiis.being provided 'tor deteriniin ing the rapidity ot'the drop .ot said valve.

Furtheig'to provide an oil Controlled gravity ialve eoinpriSing an oil holding;v `cylinder,

and apiston therein having arod or :rodev adapted to be Connected to .an oliijeet'toliinpurt iiiovenient thereto, Saidfpiston having an opening` extending. through the une, .and

au adjustalzilo. valvev 'tor' nearly. Closing' said. opening, said valve bein-g' .inoved ,away troni the opening' on: the up stroke ol.E tlie=` pieton,4

by the pressure oit oil :troni aboif'e, and Spring actuated Vin a. counter.direction to the descent ol. the piston, wherebyv the said valve is iiioved. toward and Cloee tothe. open-ing in the pieton. oir tbe down. siti-oliey ot the saine,vv

thus.controlling the itloiv oitthe oil through the pieton and .thereby retardiiig ite descent., the upper head or eap-otthe Said .oil cylinder beingconcave-convex, and provided with Y apertures,.ivhielr perinit .oil carried .through by the pieton .rod to tloiv. back .into

the -eap the cylinder.

The valve \l1ereii'iatteri1 deeeribed ,inay be.

used for anypiirpose for whioh it is adapted, and in order to Show one Way inivhieh it nia-y he appliedt have illustratedit as forme.

predetermined time irtterthe Said damper Awhich. is Secured a .damper il.

ing., part ot the mechanism :tor closing the air inlet dainperot a 'furnace door.

in the aeeoin-panvino; di'aivinefe':

liigure l is a v.ti-ont elevation ot a rurinree door having an. air inlet pipe. and a. dainper therein, Slioivingtlie application oit the ini-` proved-'oii valveae a ineens ot eloeingigthe said damper atterthe door is closed, ineehanisrn being shown or aiitoniatieall5f7 openingfthe-djainper when the door ieiopened...

Fig, 2 is ahorizontalSectional View on the line 2 otliligure 1.

Eig. is a side elevation of .Figure l. F Ll; is a vertical, sectional `vie-uen-l larged-ot the improved oil controlled grax@ ity valve, the pistonbeing .eonneetedby a single piston rod with the rack by which the piston is-lilted..

Fig. 5 is a trent view. ot a. part ot a .door equipped in a ejiniilar inaiiner to that Slioiviif .in `Figure l, the valve cylinder being in, Seetion, and showing the Ypiston eonneoted by a pair -ot rodsjto rack by which pistonis lifted.' l.

.Fighe is a side elevation ot Figure 5.

i n. shown in Figures 3 and (i.

. 8 is a firoiit vieivv, Siinilarito Figure l,

but showing manually operated ineens .for li'ltinepthepiston `valve;

Fig. l9 is an Aenlarged Side view otFigure 8, the preheater being removed.. i. FiggVlO isa Sile view, partly iireeetion, Showing ,fthe manner oteeoiiring the oil eyl.

inder to a. bracket .on-the ti'iinaeedoor;

Figli-is a-iplan vieiv of the piston..

Fig'.y 12 is avplan view of the disk valve which. controls the How. oloilthrough the piston, and i Fig. 13 is a.. Sectional vieiv Showing; the valve cylinder, the pieton therein, andits operatingnieiiihanisiin and a housin integral with :said cylinder for enclosing said mecha.- nisin.

Reiterrinzg;n .to the accompanying,draavinge:

The. numeral l.indicates1affiirnaee door, and 2,. an air, pipe' exten-clingE through the saine, having."aftransverse dampen rod i3', tov The. damper rod 3 Vezeteiide'beyond one Side ot' the' air pipe 2 toa point slightly beyond the hinged edge ot the door, and this end .of the-i1od carries -a..tappet thisend portionV et the ieant'roiit view olf the.airpreheater.`

rod being supported in a bearing 6 which is bolted to the furnace door.

Upon the hinge pin 7 of the door is Se cured a horizontal plate S having a hub through which the pin passes, and which is secured to the pin by a set screw 9, the back edge of the plate engaging the door and thereby preventing turning of the plate upon the pin. The plate has a projecting portion 10 which is positioned to stand in the path of the upper' end of the tappet 5, and when the door is opened, the tappet strikes the edge. of the projection 10 and is thereby swung downward at an angle of about fortyfive decrees thereb turnine` the dam )er rod and swinging the damper from a. vertical or closed position to a horizontal or open position. As long as the door remains open, the tappet is held in a depressed position by the plate 8, but when the door is closed, the tapvpet passes out from under the plate, thus permitting the damper to be closed by the improved oil controlled gravity valve, as will be hereinafter set forth.

The damper rod 3 has rigidly mounted thereon adjacent `the pipe 2, a toothed segment 11, which operates to lift the improved oil controlled valve, in a manner to be presently set forth.

The parts thus far mentioned show the manner in which a furnace door air inletdamper may be automatically opened, the closing of the damper being effected by the improved valve, which is constructed and arranged in the following manner: The improved oil controlled gravity valve'comprises a cylinder 12, having heads or caps 13 and 1l provided with annular bosses 15, which fit in the respective ends'of the cylinder, and the caps are held in place by headed rods 1G, which pass through holes in thecaps, the ends of the rods being` threaded to receive clamp nuts 17,-which are screwed against the adjacent cap.

he upper cap 13 is concavo-coiwcx in form and is providedwith,an axial piston rod hole, and surrounding this hole are a number of small drain holes '18. The concave-convex form of the cap 13 Venables it to catch any oil which works through the axial piston rod hole, and this oil drips back into the. cylinder through the holes 18, thus avoiding waste.

The lower cylinder cap letmay be so constructed as to enable it to be secured to any. form of support made necessary by the use to which the valve is put. In the present instance, the cap Mis formed with a central depending circular lug 19 having a threaded axial hole 20, and this lugtits into a socket 2101i a shelf 220i" a bracket 23, which is secured fto the furnace door. `The socket is preferably of slightly less depth than the length-of the lug 19 and a bolt 24FV is passed loosely through a holc in the shelf, andl drical portion having a bottom wall provided with a central holei26, the upper end of the piston consisting simply oit a central hub 27 which is integrally connected to the surrounding piston wall by spider arms 28.

The hub 27 is provided with a central threaded aperture 29 and the hub is counterbored from its upper end, as shown at 30, and in the counterbore is secured the lower end of a hollow piston rod 31, which extends out through the axial hole in the cylinder cap 13, a distance sufiicient for thepurpose for which it is intended, and upon the upper end of this piston rod is secured a member 32 having a central aperture 33 of slightly less diameter than the internal diameter of the hollow piston rod, and the lower end of the member 32 is counterbored for a suit able depth to receive the upper end of the piston rod, the opposite ends of the piston rod beingl secured to theserespectirc Countcrbores by pins 34, which pass through the piston hub 27 and member 32, respectively, and through recesses in the periphery of the piston rod, as clearly shown in Figure A stem `35, which tits snugly but rotatably in the aperture of the member 32 is passed down through the said member and through `the hollow piston, the` lower portion of the stem being threaded and screwed through the threaded aperture 29 in the piston hub. The threaded portion of the stem terminates approximately a half inch from the extremitypof the stem, and this latter portion 3G is of slightly less diameter than the .remainder of the stem, thereby forming a. shoulder 37. The reduced portion 36 is unthreaded,r and a disk valve 3S having au axial hole 39 is mounted in this reduced portion, and is normally held` against the shoulder 37 by `a spiral coil spring 39, which surrounds the reduced portion and is held under tension against the disk valve by a pin 40 in the lower end of the stem. Upon the upper end of the stem 35 is secured. a knurled thumb nut f1.1, by turning which the stem may be moved up or down through the threaded hole 29 in the piston hub, for a purpose to be presently described. 'lhc member y32 on the upper end of the hollow piston rod is adapted. toy be connected with some mechanism to which it is desired to impart movement, the form of connection depending upon the character of the mechanism. In the present case, the purpose of the valve to impart a quarter turn to the (la-amper rod 3,' and tor this purpose the member 32 isprovided withlracl teeth 42, which mesh with the teeth-ofthe segment'll ou the said damper rod. lllhenitheturnace dooris opened, the tappet- 5 is-engagedj by the plate S, as previously described, there by turning the Ydamper rod together with the damper l and segment ll. This movement ot the segmentfraises the piston'rod andits piston,` and when the tappet -is released from i2 the said roller` bearing against the opposite edge o't? the member 32 trom its toothed edge.

The cylinder i2 may be simply an air inder, butisineterably supplied witlra table liquid, oil being preierred,` to retard T l Mi the piston to drop 'from its: iii/liest to lowest position Abeingdetermined by the; u-earness .rtthe disk valve Srl, tothe bottom oft the piston, by which the tlow et oil through the hole 26 in thebot-tom ol the piston iepgulatefly,l andy the position-ot the disk with respect to the-h`ole 2G isdetermined by adjustingthe stem 35; their the piston rod and its piston i,= -,raised in the manner-above described, or by anyl other means, the oil above the 'piston' passes through the hole E2G in thefbottoni oitthe' piston, andl out over the circiun'terential 'edge ot the dist; valve Btl, which is oitlessdiam` eter than the piston, the valve-being torc-ed awa; 'tar enouf-h troni the bottoni ot the vistosi by pressure ot the oil, and against be pre ,ure ot the springl 39, to permit the vtree passage ot the oil` through the said hole 2G. y

The instant the. pistou begins to drop by 1ra'\'it v, the disk valve 3S, under the combined pressure ot the oil and the tension ot the spring` 39 is -torced up against the shoulder 3T ot the stem 235, by which the space between the disl and the bottom oit the pistou is detined, and the downward pres#- ralrc YAorces the oil up between the disk and the bottom ot the piston and through the hole 5, aud thus the piston is permitted slowly to descendn the time required itor its descent to the bottoni ot the cylinder being determined by the space between the bottom ot the piston and the disk. is the piston descends, the segment ll is, thereby turned to its normal position, by which the damperl is closed.

ln Figures 5 and 6 is shown a construetion in which the hollow axial piston rod 3l.

l th`l descent ot' the piston, the time required :rc ou the oil by the piston and `its 'disk vsegment il? is dispensed-with, and in. its place l. employ" a pair-y olfrods#12,J which arerboltedat theirl lowcrfendsto lthe hub oitlthe piston, and at theirr upper lower end` portioirfot the toothed member 0:). 0;-/7

precisely en'dsto opposite sides ot1the:-

the mechanism in-all other-respects being' the same as above describedc rlherods 42. are preferably liat rods and pass` through corresponding slots in the upper cylinder cap lill.

The inn )r end portion o'tl the pipe threaded to a ring portion lAot thevbracketA radial blades` at?, which terminate sh'ort ot tlie'tubular member Llll, the innerend Vo'tthe preheater being' internally threaded to enA gage the threaded end ot the pipe 2;

ln Figures 8 and i), l haverillustrated they same adaptation ofthe improved oilcon` trolled valve, that is', its use in conneetioir with a'l'urnaco door damper, butin/these views Tillustratemeans tor manually lifi't-'J ingl the piston as follows: lnjthisarrangement, the' damper rod/er: `nds only a `slight distance beyond one side ofthe air-pipe 2,' and on this extended'portion is secured a= toothedsegment 117, 'trein which projects a stem-like tappet Lil-8, the -outer=end Ao't'uf'hich lies in the biitiufcated end-#t9 ola vertically disposedfarm 5U, the lower endoit which is pivotally attached to an invertedLfshaped lever 5l, at the intersection of the vertically dispo ed portion ot'saidlever w: i its horiA Zontally disposed*portion, the 'tree end ot the latter menrber oit said lever being` pivotally connected to ears 52 on the bracket 23, which is suitably secured to the furnace door.

The lower end ot the lever 51 terminates in a hand hold member 53, and the pivoted end ot the lever is 'tori'ned with oppositely disl sed lugs 54; having threaded apertures in which are screwed stop bolts and 56, the latter bolt being` adapted to abut against the bracket 23 to define the downward swing' oit the lever, while the bolt 55 detines the upward swing oit the lever, this lever 'torinine` the door opening means.

then the damper is in a closed position, the tappet 4S on the segment al' lies in the crotch of the arm 50, and when the door 'opening lever 5l is raised, the arm 50, which is lifted by said lever, in turn, swings the tar enough to fully open the damper. This movement of the segment raises the piston rodand its piston, and when lever 5l is released, it swings down to its normal position, leaving the segment tree to be slowly moved down to its normal position by the gravity drop ot the piston.

In Figure 13 is shown a sectional view of a dust proof housing 12B, having an integral depending oil holding cylinder 12A, in which is mounted the pist-on 25. The housing is adapted to be` secured to the furnace door, and the damper rod 3 passes through opposite sides oit the housing. The segment gear ll, which is secured upon the damper rod, is enclosed within the housing, as is also the toothed rack 32, which meshes with the segment gear and the connection 42 between the said toothed rack and the piston. rIhe housing' shields the piston and its valve from dust and grit, and thus enhances the etlicieney ot the mechanism..

In the present application ot the oil valve, the descent ot the piston would be so retarded as to admit air to the combustion n chamber' of the furnace for a delinite period after coaling, but for any purpose for which the valve may be employed to effect the movement yot a mechanism, the descent ot the piston may be regulated to effect the movement of the said mechanism within any required period ot time.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is: y

l. In an oil controlled gravity valve, an oil holdingl cylinder, a piston'therein having a passage therethrough, a rod 'extending trom said piston, akvertically adjustable stem extending through said rod and passage, a spring actuated valve slidably mounted on said stem below the entrance of said passage, 4to control the -[low ot oil through the same, a stop on said stein for defining the closing movement ,of said valve, means for raising the piston and rod,and means viercbj said rod may be connected with a mechanism tor moving the same.

2. In an oil controlled gravity valve, the combination with an oil holding cylinder, a piston therein having' a passage therethrough, a hub, and a rod on said piston having a toothed portion, of a stem having a threaded portion which passes through a threadedaperture in said hub, the lowerl end portion ot the stem extending through the piston passage, and being et less diameter than the remainder ot the stem to term a shoulder at the junction of the two diameters, a disk valve slidably mounted lon the reduced portion ot the stem, a coil spring for normally holding said valve against said shoulder, and a lrnurled thumb nut on the upper end of said stem for adjusting said rod, whereby the distance between said valve and the entrance to the piston passage may be varied,

3. In an oil controlled gravity valve, an oil holding' cylinder, a hollow piston therein having a hub provided with a threaded hole, and openings through its opposite ends, a piston rod secured in said hub,having a toothed portion at its upper end, a stem in threaded enf gagement with the threaded hole in said hub, a sliding valve on the lower portion ot said stem tor controlling the opening in the lower end ot the piston, a stop on the stein, a spring for normally holding said valve in engagement with said stop, and a thumb nut on said stem for adj usting the same rto vary the distance between the valve and the bottom of the piston to define the tlow ot oil through the piston on its gravity stroke, said valve being mov d away trom the piston by the down flowing oil as the piston is raised.

In testimony whereot I ai'iix my signature,

JOI-IN J. A MTLLER. 

